On 4/8/2012 1:46 PM, Bob Ad5vj wrote:
> I bought off Ebay 100' of '400' 50ohm coax. Thinking it was LMR-400.
>
> This has got to be the stiffiest, lightest weight, cheapest connector, crap
> i have laid my hands on.
>
> Where can i buy REAL LMR400 coax?
Texas towers, Davis, The Wireman, Amateur Electronic Supply (AES), HRO,
The RF Connection, and many others.
Prices do vary. NOTE The Wireman sells their own equivalents, but I've
heard no complaints.
As a side note, LMR400 is relatively stiff and light weight. It uses a
foil plus braid shield, Relatively stiff PVC jacket, and the center
conductor is copper plated Aluminum. I've used several thousand feet of
the stuff and am now using a lot of it's slightly bigger brother, LMR-600.
There is also the Ultra Flex or UF version of each which has a stranded
copper center conductor and a rubber like jacket. It's very flexible,
(Even moreso than Davis Buryflex(TM) but my experience is it does not
stand up well to UV long term while BuryFlex(TM) has a very tough
jacket, is only slightly less flexible, and stands up very well.
That's what I use for all of my rotator loops.
LMR-400 has become popular enough that there are now many
knockoffs/copies available. Some are good and some are not. Last
summer it was roughly in the 60 cent per foot range it's hardly worth
purchasing cheap knockoffs. A quick check shows some now selling in the
80 to 90 some cents per foot range while LMR-600 has gone from roughly
$1.29 to the $1.50 range, BUT there's usually a notable price break at
200 or 500 feet and again at 1000 feet. IIRC each break is *about* 15%.
I normally wait until I'm really in need and then purchase at least a
1000 feet or more at a time. This price depends mostly on the value of
the dollar on the international market, so every time they run those
printing presses it raises prices.
Above all, I'd suggest purchasing from reputable and established
dealers. That's not to say there are not new dealers selling good
products on e-bay and even some great bargains, but I have to ask
myself; How do I know and is the knowledge of purchasing from an
established dealer with a good reputation worth a few cents per foot more.
73
Roger (K8RI)
>
> Bob AD5VJ
>
>
> Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G
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